An Old Betrayal: A Charles Lenox Mystery

Resumo

On a spring morning in London, 1875, Charles Lenox agrees to take time away from his busy schedule as a Member of Parliament to meet an old protégé’s client at Charing Cross. But when their cryptic encounter seems to lead, days later, to the murder of an innocuous country squire, this fast favor draws Lenox inexorably back into his old profession.

Soon he realizes that, far from concluding the murderer’s business, this body is only the first step in a cruel plan, many years in the plotting. Where will he strike next? The answer, Lenox learns with slowly dawning horror, may be at the very heart of England’s monarchy.

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Set in 1875 London; Charles Lennox, member of Parliament & sometimes detective, is called upon to meet a stranger in Charring Cross...... Realizing that he has just mistaken the identity of his client he goes after her only to be waylaid by a man of obvious good breeding. The murder of another man of breeding at his hotel door sends Charles chasing red herrings and finally brings him to the Palace and the personal staff of Queen Victoria.

Meanwhile at home his wife Lady Jane is pandering to her simpering and overly emotional friend Toto McConnell. It seems that Toto's husband, Doctor Thomas McConnell, has been seen in the presence of a notorious flirtatious society widow......

Charles is working w/ Prime Minister Disraeli on a reform bill; as Lady Jane is one of the movers & shakers in London society she has planned one of her famous & exclusive dinners honoring Benjamin Disraeli. It is rumored throughout Parliament that Graham, Charles's personal secretary is on the take and Charles (as he is working w/ the P.M.) is forced to deal with the fallout.

There are many twists and turns which keeps the book interesting and fast moving. There is some interesting history, which I do appreciate, including the history of Charring Cross....

The one thing that is beginning to grate on my nerves is the selfish, over-emotional, whining Toto McConnell...... Of all the characters she is the least likeable and the one who add absolutely nothing to society, except "color".

"An Old Betrayal" (Minotaur), the seventh Charles Lenox mystery by Charles Finch, makes pleasant reading. This is a much better novel than "A Death in the Small Hours," which I reviewed a few weeks ago after it came out in paperback.Finch doesn't write pulse-pounding thrillers. His books are more low-key, more cerebral. Sometimes they can get a bit dull, as in the case of the previous book, but "An Old Betrayal" doesn't have that problem. The tale begins when Lenox, now a Member of Parliament and apparently out of the detective business, fills in for his protege, John Dallington, who is sick in bed. Dallington has received a note from a prospective client with a striped umbrella, whom the detective is supposed to meet in a cafe. Lenox goes in his place, but expecting to meet a man, pays little attention to the only person there with a striped umbrella, a young woman. The early chapters are taken up with trying to find this woman to discover what her problem may be. Her note suggests to Lenox that she may be in some danger.It turns out that the woman is not the only one in danger. A series of murders follows, as does as threat against Queen Victoria's palace and, perhaps, the queen herself.A couple of intriguing subplots add to the pleasure of this novel. Rumors are circulating in high places that Graham, his long-time secretary and aide, cannot by trusted, and Lenox finds his political career in jeopardy as a result. Then a mysterious lady detective opens a new agency that promises to use more modern and scientific investigative techniques than Lenox and Dallington have been using. This poses a threat of a different kind.The plot gets complicated, as they often do in good mysteries, but it's fun watching Charles Lenox sort it all out.

Fun as always. These novels have recently turned a little more towards the 'teaching' of historical facts by the narrator (origins of terms, etc) than they did early in the series. Can be a bit distracting at times, it lines of takes you out of the flow a bit. However, it's a minor complaint. The series is a lot of fun.One of my favorite things about these books is that the mystery part of the story always ends with a bunch of chapters to go and Finch winds up the sub-plots and starts a new one for the next book. Looking forward to the next one already.

First of all, I want to say I'm really enjoying finally winning some of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer books. To go from not winning any since 2010, to winning almost one a month from July 2013 on has been fabulous!! Of course, I've only requested ones I thought I would be interested in reading, and I have been very fortunate in all the books I've won. I've enjoyed them all very much and have even discovered new series and new authors to enjoy----like this book "An Old Betrayal" by Charles Finch.I've become a fan of the Charles Lenox series and now will have to go back and try to catch up on the series.In this current installment, Dallington is under the weather,so Lenox agrees to help Dallington out while still trying to carry on all his own Parliamentary duties. The first attempt is a disaster but leads to an interesting study in tracking down the letter writer. One of the other reviewers said this is not a page-turner. Well, maybe not, but it does hold your interest. Going along for the ride as Lenox, Dallington and Jenkins piece everything together and come to the realization this is not just a simple murder but a plot of staggering proportions.Even though I haven't read all the books in the series, I really enjoyed all the interactions between the "regular characters": Lenox, Lady Jane, Sophia, Dallington, McConnell, Graham. Plus seeing some historical characters in the mix: Queen Victoria, Disraeli.A very enjoyable book---well worth the time to read.

If you have not read this series by Charles Finch, read it--NOW!! This is by far one of the best and most complex yet enjoyable books in the group. The characters are very finely crafted, and the surprise ending leads to anticipation of where the author will next take the leading man in his adventures! If you like Sherlock Holmes, you will no doubt enjoy Lenox.

Another good installment for Charles Lenox and crew but it seemed a bit disjointed. If you have never read any of the previous books, this isn't the one to start with since it contains updates on most of the main characters. The thing does bother me a bit is that Charles Lenox doesn't age - in the first book he was almost forty and 7 books later he is still almost forty! Since the author has started to write non-mystery books, it will be interesting to see if he continues writing any more Lenox mysteries.

This is the 7th book in the Charles Lenox mystery series. I love these mysteries and have been reading them in order whenever possible. I find it a great cozy mystery series that is a happy "escape" for me. However, book 6 was a little hard for me to get through because there was a lot of sadness for many of the main characters. I was hoping the next book would bring more happiness back into their lives and I am pleased to say I was not disappointed.Charles Lenox is still spending much of his time with his career in Parliament when his detective protege John Dallington falls ill. Dallington asks Lenox to keep an appointment for him involving a mysterious letter. Lenox makes a blunder and misses the appointment, but this mistake takes him deep into another detective case, this time involving Buckingham palace and a threat to Queen Victoria.Lenox feels pulled in many different directions. He has to neglect Parliament to handle this case, he feels he is missing out on time with his daughter Sophia, and he is hearing disturbing rumors about his doctor friend McConnell and his trusted secretary Graham. The ending is satisfying with most all of the plot threads tied up nicely. Many changes occur in the lives of the main characters, making this a "can't miss" book in the series! It's a must read for fans of the Charles Lenox mysteries.

I won a free copy of this book in a first reviewers giveaway!Perhaps it is strange but mysteries are my comfort reads -- nothing like a murder to soothe nerves -- and Charles Lenox is among my favorite detectives. The series is a bit quaint, evoking a more pleasant side of Victorian England, but it's never prim or stuffy. Charles, of course, is the focus and he is practically perfect in every way: smart, caring, generous, and incredibly tolerant for his time. Here we find Charles back in the detection game. His old protege, John Dallington, is sick in bed, so Charles lends a hand and tries to learn more about the mysterious girl who has requested Dallington's assistance. Meanwhile, his Parliamentary career is flourishing quite nicely, though several wrinkles emerge in his personal life to complicate matters. A not-too-grisly crime, a tragic and sordid secret, the monarchy, subtle historical details about Victorian England, and even a reference to the Pallisers -- what's not to love? I really hope this series continues.

Charles Finch's An Old Betrayal: A Charles Lenox Mystery, the seventh in the series, is an engaging historical set in Victorian London. Charles Lenox is an up-and-comer in Parliament, but as a favor for an ill friend, Sir John Dallington, agrees to assist in a detecting case. While his initial attempt to help his friend goes awry, Lenox finds that he misses the detecting business, his interest before Parliament, and needs no prompting to continue on with the case. What begins as helping out a damsel in distress, soon turns into an investigation of identity theft and murder, and potentially involves Buckingham Palace and the Monarchy. An Old Betrayal is a pleasant read for most any reader. Much of the action, and all of the violence takes place off of the page.The main plot line is interspersed with scenes of Lenox's home life, Parliamentary settings, and issues involving Lenox's friends. It slows the pace of the story, but serves to offer a deeper picture of Lenox's character and those closest to him. It also provides a picture of what living as a gentleman in Victorian times was like.If you're looking for page-turning action, you may want to look elsewhere, however, you might find yourself drawn into the life of Lenox, his family and his circle of pleasant friends.

It is wonderful to see Finch bring his Charles Lenox mystery series back to its focus on good old-fashioned detection with this solid Victorian murder mystery. The whole story is a series of mysteries to solve. What starts out as a simple act of assistance Lenox offers his former protege Dallington turns into a slippery case mistaken identity, murder, ulterior motives and false information. If that isn't enough to make the member of Parliament pine for his former detection days, Lenox faces concerns on the home front that his friend McConnell is up to something that has his wife upset and what about the whisperings about Lenox's assistant, Graham? It is great to see the whole cast back - Lenox, Lady Jane, Graham, Dallington, Inspector Jenkins, McConnell and his landed gentry wife Toto - with a flair and finesse that reminds me how much I enjoyed the earlier books in the series. The story retains its Victorian civilities. Lenox appears more settled, in a comfortable way, with his middle aged life and his marriage with Lady Jane. The inclusion of Queen Victoria in this one was a nice touch. I love the attention to historical detail that Finch brings to his stories and I have to say, I am curious about the tidbit that eggshells added to coffee can take the bitterness away.... I will have to test that someday. Overall, another delightful escape back in time to Victorian England.

This was my first Charles Lenox mystery, it will not be my last! The author, Charles Finch, has done a wonderful job of immersing the reader into Lenox's life in England during the Victorian era. Even though this is the seventh book in the series, I was comfortably introduced to some very well developed characters. Finch has successfully captured the distinction of the social classes and the British culture of the time period. The mystery unfolds at a very nice pace and kept me turning the pages. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of this series!

Synopsis: Lots of things are vying for Lenox's attention: Dallington is sick but needs help, Toto thinks her husband is having affair, and Graham is accused of taking bribes. Along with this, one of the Queen's secretaries is being blackmailed. When the blackmailer is murdered, along with a peer of the realm, Lenox must decide if the danger is past or if this is only a prelude.Review: Finally a female is introduced who is given credit for being smart. This was an interesting story, particularly since Queen Victoria was included.

I received this as part of giveaway. It came with an ARC of The Laws of Murder. Being an earlier book, I thought I'd read it to get the feel of the author and characters. I am now looking forward to reading The Laws of Murder.

In London 1875, Charles Lenox is now a Member of Parliament and spends his days debating, reading and passing laws. Before that he was a private detective, but now keeps his fingers in by mentoring John Dallington.

Dallington is terribly ill and asks Lenox to meet with a mysterious, potential client in his place. The meeting comes off bad, but from this the two are drawn into a mystery of murders, plotting for revenge against the Crown, blackmail and more; taking them from the slums of London to the countryside to the palace.

Written with a good pace and continuity, characters that move well within the scenes, it has been a good read and worth sitting till 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. to finish reading, after busy days.

Lord John Dallington is ill and is unable to meet with a potential client. Dallington ask Charles Lenox to meet with the client instead. The only change is that Dallington received a note asking him to meet the client but does not know the client’s identity and has no way to let the client know that Lenox will be meeting him instead. The client does not show and Lenox tries to investigate and identify the client. The client is actually a woman who is being blackmailed for a bad decision she made in her past. While he - and Dallington, as he recovers - begins to investigate, he realizes that there is nothing straightforward about the case or his client. Dallington and Lenox must look through the lies in order to determine where the true crimes lie and the identity of the true criminal.As all of the books in this series, the plot moves slowly and one could almost say stately. Lenox spends a lot of his time working on the problems in Parliament and tries to juggle this with his investigation. Even though he gave up his career as a detective when he joined Parliament, this case reminds him of how much he misses the digging. This case makes he look at his situation and his life more clearly.I look forward to the next in the series.

Since he’s taken his seat in Parliament, Charles Lenox has officially abandoned detective work. But when his friend and former protégé John Dallington – confined to his bed with illness -- asks him to meet a new client in his place, Lenox can hardly refuse. The new client provides a meeting time, place and description of himself in a note to Dallington. It’s all quite mysterious and being back in the game gets Lenox’s juices going. But the meeting at a coffee house turns out to no one’s satisfaction when the Lenox figures out too late that the client is a young woman. Before Lenox can approach her, she is frightened off by a man who suddenly appears. The encounter leads to an awkward meeting between Lenox and the man who scared off Dallington’s client. He identifies himself as Archibald Godwin. But nothing and no one are quite what they seem in An Old Betrayal. Today, any amateur could Google Godwin to obtain his address, his pedigree, his family history, and then friend him on Facebook. But Lenox and Dallington are operating in 1875 London and it’s a harder slog. Later Godwin winds up dead – murdered -- and our two detectives are sucked into the investigation. Although I used to read tons of fiction – and lots of cozy mysteries – today, I’m more into non-fiction, history and biography. But I still have a handful of favorite authors whose books I read religiously. Charles Finch is one of them. His Charles Lenox mysteries are always wonderful – with an amazing cast of secondary characters, great writing and stories that never fail to entertain. An Old Betrayal does not disappoint.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book via the Early Reviewers program.Another in the lovely Lenox series of Victorian mysteries. Like the last one, lots of character development and lovely writing, although everything does come together at the end in a "happily ever after" sort of way that makes me wonder if this is the end of the series.The mystery has plenty of twists and turns, and there are THREE subplots that Finch supports through the book masterfully. The resolution of the primary mystery is both surprising and a little over the top, but it worked.Some of the passages in the book really show Finch's ability to bring the period alive; This has to be my favorite: "Eight or ten people left the train at Paddock Wood, and among them was a family with a very small horse. They had bullied it onto the train at the last stop — “It will only be seven minutes, don’t kick up a fuss” — and the hapless conductor had stared at it despondently for the entire time since then. To the horse’s credit it behaved with admirable decorum throughout its brief ride, standing near the door of the carriage and refusing eye contact with its fellow passengers.Unfortunately the animal chose precisely the moments of its disembarkation to leave a memento of its gratitude for the conductor’s tolerance."I am in awe of Finch's ability to write so clearly in the voice of another person in another time and place. A great mystery to settle down with on a cold winter's night.

I jumped into the seventh book of this historical mystery series, An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch. I felt sure that I would love it but I didn’t. It was just OK for me. This book shines with historical details but had too many characters for me and got to the conclusion very slowly. Charles Lenox is a member of Parliament. John Darlington is much younger than Lenox, only about 27 years old and one of the best private detectives in London. Charles did detective work before he was in the Parliament. Darlington is very sick with a chest cold that could turn very nasty. He had an appointment requested at a restaurant and has no way of contacting the person to cancel it. So he requests that Charles Lenox to fill in for him. The meeting goes wrong but Charles is hooked on finding out who is this person needing help and why. There is a murder later on and there are several pieces to stitch together to figure out what is going on.I loved the humor in the book, like when Charles Lenox’s wife served up a special dish for Prime Minister Disraeli. Also I liked reading about his family life including Lady Jane his wife and his dear little daughter would wanted to hear a story that irritated him over and over again. I felt more interested in Lady Jane than I did in Queen Victoria. That could be that Queen Victoria had been through so much by 1875. She was used to bad things happening in her life. However, there was too much politics for me and too much discussing this and that. I longed for the story to move on and no matter how diligently I read, it would not. This may just me as I don’t really like movies that are only conversations but I ended up struggling to finish the book. It is strange since I loved the characters, it is just that the story seemed sluggish.Since I do like the characters, I am hopeful that the next book in this series will move faster.I received this book from the Publishers as a win from FirstReads and that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.

It’s always a treat to settle down with a Charles Finch novel and An Old Betrayal doesn’t disappoint. An Old Betrayal is the seventh book in the Charles Lenox series and if you haven’t read the series, you can delve right in since most books can be read as a standalone. Finch isn’t one to drown the reader in a character’s back story and therefore I do recommend you start from the beginning with A Beautiful Blue Death, but it’s not necessary.Set in 1875, An Old Betrayal picks up a year after A Death in the Small Hours ends. Former gentleman detective turned Member of Parliament, Charles Lenox, finds himself busy in the House of Commons and as Junior Lord of the Treasury. When the opportunity arises to assist his former protégé, Lord John Dallington, Lenox can’t say no and begins to oversee the case himself. Unfortunately, Lenox finds his duties in Parliament limits the amount of time he’s able to devote and soon comes to realize his investigative skills are a bit rusty. Still he presses on with the investigation and little does he know, the case is about to become more complicated; impersonation and murder entwine along with a possible plot involving Queen Victoria. Lenox and Dallington also grapple with the arrival of a new detective agency looking to compete with Dallington.It can be difficult for readers new to a series to pick up a book mid-series since most of the character development has occurred in the earlier books. By the third or fourth book, an author has a good grasp on the characters and won’t go into detail regarding who they are. Finch, however, continues to develop his characters. In the past, I’ve privately criticized Lady Jane and referred to her as, dull as ditch water but in An Old Betrayal we find our footing with Jane. There’s a particular scene where she shows us who she truly is and it was quite fun getting to know her all over again. Toto and McConnell make an appearance and while I still think it’s a bit too brief, we get new insight to Toto’s relationship with McConnell. I daresay, this is probably the first time readers will truly understand Toto’s feelings for McConnell and I’ve been critical of Toto in the past, but mostly due to her behavior regarding McConnell. That being said, I do worry about these two very much. Other well known characters make an appearance and Finch introduces us to several new ones. No doubt readers will relish getting to know them.The writing is classic Finch with beautiful and rich descriptions. I did find An Old Betrayal to be filled with more humor when compared to the previous novels. Lenox’s humor is more apparent when he’s around his daughter. There’s a particular scene involving Sophia and Lenox makes an observation that she won’t be an apprenticed seamstress in the near future. Overall, I really enjoyed the personal touches Finch makes us take note of. As with previous novels, Finch interweaves historical facts with his narrative. Readers will walk away knowing the origin of the soup kitchen as well as the terms hogwash and magazine. We also get a bit of a history lesson involving the Jacobites and how the House of Hanover (which Queen Victoria was the last British monarch to descend from) came to be. Salic law dictates that no female could inherit the Kingdom of Hanover and its territories unless there were no male heirs. In the case of Victoria, her uncle Ernest Augustus inherited since he was the son of George III and Victoria was just his granddaughter.What I really enjoyed about An Old Betrayal is that Finch makes us question the loyalty of old friends. Most fans of the Lenox series regard Lenox, McConnell, Jenkins, and company as dear friends. In real life, sometimes a friend’s action will leave us questioning their character, etc. I’m not going to go into detail regarding the two characters because I don’t want to spoil things, but will say this: you’ll be left surprised and disappointed. When things get resolved you’ll be angry for having an ounce of doubt. Finch makes you care about the fate of his characters and if the events involving two beloved characters made me feel as if a stake was going through my heart, I can’t imagine what will happen if Finch ever decides to kill off a character.With regards to the mystery, it is a bit weak and connected to two subplots. Some might criticize the use of these subplots, but they are necessary and vital to the plot. Readers not familiar with Finch’s writing style may find this to be cumbersome. Finch isn’t the type of author to wrap up a mystery nicely and always goes beyond the solving of a case to provide the reader with additional information. I always have fun trying to solve the mystery alongside Lenox and in the past, he’s made me admit defeat. While I want to admit and gloat that I figured out, I can’t. I partially guessed the impersonation aspect since a few things didn’t sit well, but the reason behind the motive is where I failed. I also failed with regards to another character who I swore was involved, but alas Lenox had more faith in this person than I did.Overall, Charles Finch’s An Old Betrayal is a highly enjoyable read. I always have fun traipsing through London with Lenox. It’s always a treat to read a book by an author who actually takes the time to reflect on the past and while we very much hold true to a vision of a particular past (not every ancestor lived in a grand mansion with servants about, some of us do descend from laborers), it’s nice to read a book by an author who actually takes the time to reflect on it. There’s a particular scene in which a member of the House of Commons complains about the traffic in London and I can’t help but chuckle. The poor dear would have an apoplexy with today’s traffic.Readers of the series will be surprised by the ending and I’m looking forward to the new possibilities that will present themselves.

An Old Betrayal is the seventh book in Charles Finch’s Charles Lenox series. I’ve read them all. I first discovered Finch wandering around a book store a number of years ago looking for some mysteries to take to my mother. We both enjoyed the book and I’ve continued to read them. One thing I like about Charles Lenox is that things do not just stay the same with only the mystery to be solved presented as new. The characters change and evolve and keep the series from becoming stale. Lenox has gotten married, run for Parliament, had a child, and retired from detection to serve in Parliament. I have learned a lot about the British Parliamentary system from reading the series and An Old Betrayal is no exception. This is jam for a political junky.An Old Betrayal is set in 1875. It is the first in the series to include Queen Victoria as a character. I have to admit that during the meeting with the Queen I half expected Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt to make an appearance. There are mysterious strangers and unexplained mistaken identities, but in the end Lenox, his associate and friend Lord John Dallington, Scotland Yard and a young woman private detective solve the problem. I’m generally pretty good at figuring things out, but this story got pretty close to the end before I figured out most of what was going on.The ending is surprising in two ways: first is why the plot was hatched against Victoria and second, the surprising developments in Lenox’s personal life. Finch has set Lenox up for a new stage in his life as a detective. I have to admit that I am a sucker for mysteries set in the Victorian era, but I really look forward to the next installment of this series.An Old Betrayal doesn’t disappoint and is highly recommended.